


Paladin Maze Round 2

by miraculousstorytelling



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Revenge, honestly just a lot of bickering, keith also has his petty moments, lance becomes a petty jerk, sorry for the angst?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-11
Updated: 2016-07-27
Packaged: 2018-07-22 20:45:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7453384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miraculousstorytelling/pseuds/miraculousstorytelling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the first training session with the paladin maze, it's Keith's turn to go through the maze and Lance's job to guide him through. Of course, Lance takes his responsibility completely seriously and doesn't mess with Keith at all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Time for round two of the paladin maze," Coran announced with a grin.

Keith sighed, glancing around the seemingly empty room, "All right. Who's guiding me?"

"Well, howdy, Keith!" Lance's voice chirped over the communication lines, "Ready to get started?"

Keith bit back a curse. He tried not to panic, but he couldn't help the edge in his voice when he asked in disbelief, "Coran? Seriously?"

Lance chuckled, enjoying himself entirely too much, "No, it's _Lance_. You really should recognize my voice by now."

Coran was annoyingly silent, leaving Keith to conclude that he was either gone or just staying out of the conversation. Stifling a groan of frustration, Keith grimaced, "Fine. Let's just get this over with."

"Okay, now take two steps forward."

Keith moved forward, immediately jumping back when he was met with a shock, "Seriously?!"

"Oh, sorry!" If he was, Lance certainly didn't sound like it, "I forgot to tell you to turn first. Turn left and take two steps forward."

Keith wasn't even surprised when he turned and hit another wall, followed by a sharp jolt.

"Your _other_ left, Keith."

"That _is_ my left!" Keith ground out between gritted teeth.

"Man, I _always_ get those two mixed up. My bad. Turn around and take two steps."

Keith turned on his heel, taking two cautious steps and glancing up at the command room for further instruction.

Lance spoke again, "Great. Now, turn right." Keith turned, sending a look over his shoulder as Lance continued, "Yep, definitely the right direction that time. Take four steps forward."

Keith was once again pleasantly surprised to find he wasn't hitting any walls until his third step.

Lance didn't even try to hide the laughter in his voice, "Sorry, sorry. Wow, your footsteps are just _huge_ , buddy! I didn't think you'd move so fast."

"Cut it out, Lance!" Keith shouted, angrily glaring at the command room overhead.

"All right! Sorry." A pause, then Lance spoke up again, "Turn right, then take three steps forward."

Keith begrudgingly followed the orders, relaxing step by step as he progressed slowly.

"Now, two steps to the right."

Keith moved as directed, relieved to find he was once again shock-free.

"Step forward."

Lance's laugh when Keith stepped into the wall once more sent Keith over the edge. Face flushed in anger, Keith snapped, "That's it!" He turned to face the command room, "Lance, if you can't take this seriously, then just shut up! I'll figure it out myself."

"You can't even see the walls! How are you supposed to-"

Keith steeled himself for the shock and settled a hand on the wall, flinching at the initial burst of electricity, then ran his hand along the wall, feeling his way forward. It hurt, sure, and Lance's voice in his ears became annoyingly high pitched in concern, but Keith tuned it out.

"Keith, stop it!" Lance yelled, "Just listen to me!"

"Believe it or not, this is less painful than your terrible directions," Keith answered coolly, "A lot less annoying, too." He still grunted in pain when he collided with the wall ahead of him.

"Come on, seriously! You're going to hurt yourself!" Lance shouted.

Keith just rolled his eyes and ignored him.

"Coran, shut it off! He's not listening!" Lance's voice rose in panic, "Coran!"

"Make him listen to you. This is about trust." Coran's voice sounded distantly through the communication link, "It's your job to get him out of there safely." Keith grimaced. Of course that would be Coran's answer.

After another few feet, Keith released the wall to take a breather and shake some feeling back into his hand. The constant current must have numbed it temporarily. Keith made a face, briefly considering his options. Maybe he could use his jacket as an insulator.

Lance's voice sounded over the link, interrupting his thoughts, "Keith, listen to me. I'm sorry. I was being a jerk."

"You're _always_ a jerk," Keith shot back, annoyed.

"I'll get you out if you just listen."

Keith was already tugging off his jacket, preparing to wrap it around his hand, "Sure. That doesn't sound like you're messing with me at all."

"Okay, I _was_ , but I'm not now. I was just getting you back for last time."

Keith scowled, "I was actually _trying_ to guide you last time!"

"Oh, really?! Why did I keep hitting the walls, then, Keith?!" Lance snapped.

"Because you wouldn't listen to me!" Keith shouted, fists clenched, "Because you _never_ listen to _anyone_! It's all just a big joke to you! But, this isn't a game, and the stakes aren't just a lecture from the teachers anymore! If we lose out there, people _die_! We have to be able to trust each other, and you can't even keep it together for a _training exercise_!"

Lance was silent so long that Keith actually began to wonder if he'd left. Instead, Lance coldly instructed, "Turn left. Take four steps."

Keith hesitantly did as directed, following the instructions that Lance provided at regular intervals. Lance's voice never deviated from the flat monotone that set Keith's teeth on edge. Keith hadn't meant to push so hard, and maybe, yeah, he'd been a little harsh, but it wasn't like any of it was technically wrong.

Finally, Keith emerged from the maze and left the training area. He made his way to the command room, nearly bumping into Lance in the doorway.

"Listen, I-" Keith began, still irritated.

"No, _you_ listen," Lance shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at Keith, "You think I don't know what we're up against? You think I don't have people back home I want to protect? You think I'm a joke? At least I don't go off and try to do _everything_ like some stupid lone wolf. At least I trust my team. You'd rather fail alone than try and succeed together. So, don't act like I'm the problem, here, Keith." He stormed past a very shocked Keith, angrily knocking his shoulder into Keith's as he passed. That extra serving of pettiness made Lance feel a little better, but it didn't really ease the deep-seated frustration at his teammate.

Keith watched him go, his anger twisting into something else entirely. Guilt? Did he feel guilty over this? That wasn't fair. Lance was the one who messed with him on purpose.

Keith stared down at his throbbing hand, the skin of his fingers still pink from his exposure to the invisible walls. He frowned. If anyone should feel guilty, it should be Lance.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Keith fight some more, shockingly.

Over the next few days, everyone noticed the drastic shift in Keith and Lance. If they'd been cool towards each other before, they were absolutely frigid now. Neither would even look at the other.

Pidge mumbled, "Man, and I thought their _bickering_ was bad..."

Shiro looked on with increasing concern, "What happened?"

Pidge shrugged in response.

Hunk flopped onto the couch next to Shiro, "As far as I can tell, they both yelled at each other. Coran wouldn't tell me what they said, but it sounds like it got pretty bad."

Shiro stood with a frown, speaking to Lance and Keith who were currently seated at opposite ends of the room, "Okay, enough. What's going on, you two?"

"Nothing," they answered in unison, grimacing as one when they realized they'd spoken at the same time.

Pidge snorted in disbelief as Shiro folded his arms, "Really?" When they both remained silent, he frowned, "Okay, fine. If it's really nothing, let's practice forming Voltron."

Lance stood, "Sure! Fine!" He stretched casually, "Noooo problemo."

Keith fought the urge to roll his eyes as he rose and immediately headed for his hangar. He knew what Shiro was doing, and it grated on him almost as much as this idiotic three-day feud with Lance. It wasn't the longest Keith had ever held a grudge, but it was definitely crossing the line from petty straight into stupid. He didn't need Shiro's help to realize that.

Keith had considered apologizing or trying to talk, or heck, even punch it out on multiple occasions. The only problem was that every time he tried, one glimpse at Lance's dumb face made him all the more determined to keep up this high stakes game of emotional chicken. Who would crack first? Not Keith, that was for sure.

Lance actually did roll his eyes when Keith breezed out of the room without so much as a word. Yeah, that checked out, Lance thought sourly. Of course Keith would turn sulking into an art form. Lance stormed out of the room and headed straight for his hangar. If Shiro wanted to try to force their hands, fine. They'd form Voltron. They'd form the heck out of Voltron. Stupid Keith with his stupid mullet and his stupid bad attitude wouldn't change that.

Pidge watched quietly and sighed before leaving for the hangar.

Hunk glanced over at Shiro, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Shiro shrugged, "Do you have a better one?"

Hunk frowned and left for his own hangar. Shiro followed with a sinking feeling that this was absolutely not going to end well.

 

"All right. Is everyone ready?" Shiro's voice sounded over the communication link.

"Yes!" Pidge replied.

Hunk nodded, then realized they couldn't see him and spoke, "Totally!"

Keith responded, "I've _been_ ready."

Lance shouted, "Let's do this!"

"Okay!" Shiro said, hoping this would work.

They all focused, feeling the beginnings of that connection that always formed when they joined together.

Lance focused on Voltron, focused on a giant robot, focused on his lion, focused on anything but stupid Keith.

Keith meanwhile was calm, his whole mind focused on linking with his teammates and proving Shiro wrong. Everything was fine. He didn't need to be friends with Lance to be a competent paladin. In fact, it might even be easier without Lance's annoying jabs and persistent rivalry.

_Lone wolf_...

Keith gritted his teeth as that annoying criticism replayed in his mind, breaking his concentration. His grip on the controls tightened. He willed his brain to stop, but it didn't. Instead, it helpfully offered up the phrase on repeat.

_Lone wolf, lone wolf, lone wolf_...

Meanwhile, Lance was finally relaxed and _finally_ experiencing that feeling he always got when they were on the cusp of combining. Good, he thought. He was right. This petty argument with Keith really hadn't changed anything. They were forming Voltron.

...except they weren't.

"Um, what's going on?" Hunk's voice sounded over their communication link.

Lance frowned, "I have no idea. I was totally in the zone. It's probably Keith's fault."

Keith tried to bite back a nasty retort but it slipped out anyway, "Not a chance. Unlike _some people_ , I'm taking this seriously."

Shiro raised his voice, "Lance. Keith. Focus. Let's try again."

Everyone quickly fell into the familiar sensation of linking their minds together. Keith focused on literally anything else but the words lone or wolf. It was working well enough, and they almost reached the point of transformation. Keith's lips curled up in a grim smile.

Until the moment the Keith's mind latched onto a new memory.

_Don't act like I'm the problem here, Keith._

Keith flinched.

_At least I trust my team_.

Cursing his mind's terrible timing, Keith grimaced, forcing his thoughts back to Voltron. But, the damage had been done, and the connection faded.

"Come on, you two!" Pidge scolded, "Get it together!"

Lance's irritated voice followed, "Hey, I'm focused. I'm not the problem here!"

Keith snapped. What else could he do, really? Lance's voice wouldn't get out of his head, and when the idiot himself had the nerve to echo the accusing voices in Keith's mind, Keith saw red.

"Forget it. This isn't working," Keith ground out between a clenched jaw, "I'm going back." He turned back to the castle, shaking with rage.

"Keith." Shiro's voice sounded in his ear, but Keith didn't even pause. "Keith! We're not done!"

Keith tore the helmet off and proceeded to ignore any and all sounds that emerged from the link. He even dismissed Allura when she appeared on his screen. He guided his lion back into the hangar, intent on finding a spot in the castle to hide from everyone. He just needed to cool down and everything would be fine.

Keith didn't count on Lance landing his lion right next to Keith's and storming over to him just as Keith dropped to the ground.

"What the heck was that? You get yelled at once and now you can't even stick around to try and fix it?" Lance was yelling now, red-faced and furious, "No wonder you dropped ou-"

Keith calmly decked him, just a hint of satisfaction flashing through the anger in his eyes when Lance fell back. "Can't you be quiet for one second?" he hissed.

"What...is your problem?!" Lance tackled him to the ground, aiming punches at his sides and chest. Keith, annoyingly enough, dodged or caught all of them. Finally, Keith shoved him off and they both jumped to their feet, glaring daggers.

"You're my problem," Keith answered coldly, "Just leave me alone."

"No! We're a team! Stop pushing everyone away!"

"In case you didn't notice," Keith responded with a scowl, "You're the only one I'm actually pushing away."

"Says the guy who just _flew away from his team_ ," Lance shouted.

Keith tried to punch him again, evidently honing in on a new favorite way to shut him up, but Lance anticipated it and dodged in time to grab Keith's arm and twist it behind his back.

"I'm trying to have a conversation!" Lance yelled, "Would you stop attacking me?"

Keith grunted in pain, "Only if you stop irritating me." He elbowed Lance and tugged his arm free, preparing for another blow to Lance's annoying face.

"That's enough!" Shiro roared from beside them.

Keith and Lance jumped, shocked by the sound. They turned to face their leader with twin expressions of guilt.

"Now, _clearly_ something is going on." Shiro strode over to the two of them, tense with agitation, "And you two are going to work it out." He glanced at Lance, "I don't appreciate you running off like that. Go put your lion in its hangar."

Lance walked off, sulking slightly at the reprimand. "Whatever, dad," he grumbled, clambering into his lion and flying off.

Keith looked down, afraid to meet Shiro's eyes.

"Keith," Shiro said softly but with a stern tone, "Don't _ever_ cut off communication like that again. You can't just abandon your team. If something had happened, we'd be lost without you."

Keith could feel the tears burning behind his eyes, but he refused to acknowledge them, "Yes, sir."

Shiro laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, his voice softening, "You're important to all of us, Keith. Lance included. Talk it out." Somehow, as he always seemed to, Shiro knew what Keith needed to hear in that moment.

Keith gave a stiff nod and rushed off to his room.

No one bothered him, which was good, because he might have had to kill them. After all, he didn't want to admit to the fact that he'd just cried his eyes out for the first time in years.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And we return to the Paladin Maze for the final resolution to this story. Hope you enjoy!

Once Keith was sure he looked normal, he finally emerged. He passed Hunk in the kitchen and asked softly, "Lance?"

"Training room," Hunk answered, uncharacteristically short.

Keith turned, about to leave, but another chorus of " _at least I trust my team_ "s pulled him back like a magnet. "Hunk, I'm..." he heaved a sigh, "Sorry."

All at once, Keith was surrounded by warmth. Keith tensed instinctively until he realized just what was happening. Hunk was hugging him. Despite himself, Keith could feel himself slowly relax. After a moment, the warmth departed and Hunk clapped a hand on his shoulder, "It's okay."

Keith smiled, and the expression felt almost foreign with the permanent frown he'd worn over the past few days, "Thanks."

Somehow, that bolstered Keith enough to make his way to the training room. When he walked in, Lance was seated in the middle of the room. Without a word, Lance pointed up to the command room. Keith looked puzzled for a moment, then he slowly understood. Lance was in the paladin maze and expected Keith to guide him through.

Reluctant, but a bit relieved to have this conversation from a distance, Keith turned and retreated to the control room. Coran left once Keith walked in. Keith briefly recognized he'd probably upset the two Alteans with his outburst earlier. The thought of more apologies on top of those he already owed his fellow paladins was exhausting.

Keith settled in front of the screen. The maze was more complex than the last one. He briefly wondered if that change was intentional. He slid the helmet on and took a steadying breath, "Turn to your right and take two steps forward."

 

Lance had been waiting for what felt like hours. The idea had seemed brilliant before the reality of sitting and waiting for Keith to stop being a baby caught up to him. Coran was being unusually quiet. Lance briefly hoped he hadn't left.

"Any sign of him?" Lance asked softly.

"No." Coran responded.

Lance sat, twiddling his thumbs as he looked around the room. His mind wandered, as it always seemed to, back to his family. Every time he'd gotten in an argument with his siblings, his mom had assigned them chores together. Somehow, the act of focusing on something else made it easier to talk about what was really going on. Lance hoped that feeling translated to guiding someone through a maze.

When Keith finally entered the training room, Lance just pointed. He was still mad and nursing a bruised jaw, so he wasn't too interested in small talk. It took Keith a moment to understand, but when he did, he left quietly.

Soon enough, Keith's voice sounded in his ears, and Lance took a deep breath before turning and stepping forward. Lance half-expected a shock, and somehow it irritated him more when he didn't receive one.

Keith continued to give directions for a moment before Lance finally spoke up, "I'm sorry I gave you bad directions." The words flew out of his mouth, like he was afraid of choking on them.

Keith froze, "Um. We're doing this now?"

Lance rolled his eyes, "Yes, Keith. We're doing this now. Why do you think I'm having you guide me through?"

Keith actually had figured that out, but somehow the stupid question he voiced was the first thing that came out. He sighed, "Three steps forward."

"Keith, seriously?"

Keith steeled himself before admitting, "I'm sorry I said you thought this was all a joke."

Lance paused, then glanced up at the command room before taking a hesitant three steps forward.

As soon as Keith started, he couldn't stop, speech simply tumbling out of him, "I couldn't stop thinking about what you said. Turn left."

Lance was a bit thrown by the confession interspersed with directions, but he managed to progress through the maze anyway.

"About trust. You're right. I don't trust other people. I don't like it. Four steps forward." This was much easier, staring into a screen instead of looking at Lance directly. "That's why I couldn't focus earlier. Because it killed me that you were right. I'd rather fail by myself than rely on another person. Keep going."

Lance was actually stunned this was working so well. So stunned he almost didn't move forward.

"Lance, you need to take another step forward," Keith said evenly.

"Right." Lance stepped forward.

"Just _one_ step!" Keith's voice sounded as Lance raised his foot to continue moving forward.

Lance stopped on pure instinct, and it slowly dawned on Keith why. Lance trusted him. He was deliberately choosing to trust Keith.

"U-um." The realization flustered him for a moment, but then he pulled himself together, "Turn left." He exhaled slowly, "Keep going until I tell you to stop."

Lance didn't even hesitate. He took smaller, steadier steps, waiting to hear the command to stop.

Keith waited until the last possible second, "Stop."

Lance set his foot down an inch or two from the wall in front of him. Keith's heart was racing. Lance was actually listening to him. Somehow, that both hurt and thrilled him. Was this what trust felt like?

"I don't want to be the problem," Keith admitted softly.

Lance felt a pang of guilt. Yeah, that had probably been too harsh. Despite his immature grudge, he had actually regretted saying that. Lance's mouth worked for a moment, trying to settle on what to say.

"Take a small step back and turn right."

"Wait. Keith. I didn't mean it like that." Lance took a step back, "Ugh. I just... I was just mad, because you were being stubborn and hurting yourself all because you wouldn't let me help you."

"Help me by sending me into another wall?" Keith asked, some of his irritation returning.

"I was just messing with you."

A burst of anger filled Keith's voice as he retorted harshly, "You know, you keep yelling at me for having trust issues, but when I tried trusting you, look at what happened. You sent me into walls. It hurt. And you laughed at me."

Lance felt his stomach bottom out. "What...?"

Keith seemed to curl in on himself at that, physically wrapping his arms around his stomach in a protective gesture, "Look, you're almost out. Just turn ri-"

"No, wait. Stop. Go back. I..." Lance sat down, briefly overcome with shock and wave after wave of guilt, "I'm the biggest jerk in the world."

"We're not even on a world," Keith pointed out in lieu of actually expressing or experiencing any emotions.

"Then I'm the biggest jerk in space!" Lance wailed dramatically, tears pricking at his vision. "I was just trying to be a little jerk, but I turned out to be, like, the Voltron of jerks."

Keith couldn't help but roll his eyes at Lance's over the top response, "Look, yeah, it was pretty bad, but come on."

"I'm sorry!"

And, yes, that was ridiculously loud and unnecessarily emotional, but Keith smiled anyway, "It's okay."

"I'll never play another prank again as long as I live." Lance only half meant it, milking the drama from the moment with practiced hand of a lifelong drama queen.

Keith snorted, "You wouldn't last a day."

"You're on, mullet man," Lance shot back, easing back into their familiar banter.

Keith chuckled despite himself, "What is it with you and my hair?"

Lance shrugged, "It's outdated and easy to make fun of."

Keith could hardly believe it when he heard his own voice teasing Lance in a sing-song tone, "Lance, you're being a jerk again."

Lance was torn between laughing and stammering out a protest, "Hey, that isn't what I meant. You..." he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest, "Quiznak, you're annoying."

"I'm pretty sure bonding with your team member doesn't include insulting them."

"Well, it's not insulting if it's true!"

Keith laughed at that, and Lance quickly joined in. Once they recovered enough for Lance to stand again, Keith instructed, "Turn right and take three steps forward."

Lance followed his directions, "Am I almost out?"

"Yes. You just need..." A devious grin spread over Keith's lips, "You just need to turn left and walk forward."

Lance yelped when he hit the wall and received a mild shock.

Keith bit back a laugh, "Sorry, your _other_ left."

Lance was quiet for a moment, and Keith began to worry he might have misread the atomsphere, then Lance nodded slowly, "Okay, yeah. I deserved that." Then, he turned and walked out of the maze, "You're still a jerk, though."

"Hey, at least we can both agree you're better at being a jerk than I am."

Lance chuckled, "Hey, I'll take whatever victory I can get!"


End file.
